Wheel.



B. C. SEATON. WHEEL. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 13, 1907.

Patented Feb. 16, 1909.

NGTUN. D. C

. .5. mw mwd mmm W5 M .@V i m. n mm m m m m Bf m m b ticularly to the type of wheel shown in my WHEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb, ie, 1909.

Applieaton filed September 13, 1907. Serial No. 392,704.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that. I, BENJAMIN (l. SEATON, a. citizen of the United States, residing at Detroit, Michigan, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in lVheels, of which the following is a full, clear, yand exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the' art to which 4it'appertains to malte and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming partof this specification, in which- Figure l is a sideelevation of a yWheel embodying the features of my invention; and Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

This invention relates to wheels, and parprior United States patent No. 814,737, dated March 13, 1906.l The Wheel shown in said patent comprises a hub sectionthat consists of a hub, spokes and a felly connected to theA .ends of the spokes, an outer rim which carries the tire or tread ofthe wheel and transversely extending tension springs connected to the outer rim and to the felly of t-he hub section in such a manner that the tension of the springs is equally distributed circumferentially around the wheel.

The object of my present invention is to provide a Wheel of the general type abovereferred to but in which the hub section consists of a hub and a central supporting member formed by a plurality of metal plates that are permanently secured to the hub and which are provided 'adjacent their peripheries with arms or projections to which the tension springs are connected at one end.

I have herein shown the preferred form of my invention as consisting of a wheel which is provided with a flanged metal tread so as to enable the wheel to be used on rail- Way rolling stock but I Wish itto be understood that I do not consider the invention herein described as being limited to a car wheel as the outer rim of the wheel may be provided With a rubber tread or any other formV of tread.

Referring to the drawings which illustrate the preferred form of my invention, 1 and 2 designate metal plates or disks, preferably formed of sheet metal, which are permanently secured to a hub A to form a central supporting member. The plates 1 and 2 are spaced apart, as shown in Fig. 2, by means of cores or fillers 3 and are securely fastened together by bolts or rivets et which pass through'the plates and yfillers. 'The plates are preferably connected [to the hub by fastening devices 5 which' pass through the hub but it will," of course, be understood that the plates could be secured to the hub in various ways without 'departing from the spirit of my invention;

In the construction herein* shown the tread of the wheel consists of' an outer' rim 9 provided with an integral rail flange 10 but it will, of coursebe understood that other types of` treads could be used Without departing from the spirit of myinvention. Metal plates 11 and 12'are connected to'iside edges of the outer-rim9` by means of "fastening devices 13 and said plates carry projections or arms 11il and '12 that project inwardly toward the hub nof thev Wheel,"said arms being so disposed'that the arms on the plates 11 and 12 willfbe staggeredv with relation to each other, as shown in Fig. 1. The plates 1 and 2 also carry arms 'lavalid 2 that project toward theouter rim` 9,' and said arms 1fL and 2a arealso staggered, that is to say, the arms 1a are arranged intermediate the arms 2a. outer rim Aare so disposed relatively to the arms 1a and 2LL on the central supporting member of the hub section that the arms 11al will be disposed oppositely to the arms 2- on the plate 2 and the arms 12a will-be disposed oppositely to the arms 1a on the plate 1, and in the construction herein shown said coperating arms are formed integral with the members that carry them.

Transversely arranged tension springs 14 are connected to the coperating projections or arms on the plates 1 and 2 and the`plates 11 and 12preferably by devices 15 fastened to,` ball members 16-that are mounted in sockets in the projections or arms so as to form universal joints, as shown clearly in Fig. 2. In a wheel constructed in this manner the springs will normally all be arranged in horizontal planesbut slightly under tension, because the points of attachmentwill be diametrically opposite each other. However, when pressure is applied to the wheel the tendency of the lower portion' of the wheel to place the lower series of springs under tension will be communicated tln'oug 1- out the wheel and all of the springs will' The arms 11a and 12a on` the outer ed e of the central supporting member of the w ieel. This equal distribution ofthe tension on the springs is due to the fact that" the outerrim is provided with fixed secur- 5 ing points; that is kto say, the securing points for the springs on the outer rim dol not change under any condition, but the securing points for the springs on the central supporting member of the hub section move relatively to the outer rim ,in proportion to the amount of weight applied tothe wheel. When the springs are under abnormal tension, they are alternately inclined in such a manner that each alternate spring is inclined in a direction opposite tothe adjacent ones. Hence the provision for resisting the circumferential thrust as well as the provision for the side thrust of the axle is made.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new' and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A wheel comprising a hub, metal plates secured to said hub and spaced away from each other by cores or fillers, an outer rim provided with inwardly projecting arms -v thatl are staggered with relation to each other and which are arranged adjacent the opposite side edges of sald rim, arms on said plates disposed oppositely to the arms .on the rim, and transversely extending tension springs each of whlch 1s connected at one end to an arm on the rim and at itsopposite end to an arm on one of said plates; subs t antial1y as described.

2, A wheel comprising a central supporting member consisting of a hub, a pair of` vmetal plates connected to said hub, each of which is provided on its periphery with a plurality of integral arms, the arms on-one' plate being stao'gered with relation to those on the other p ate, an outer rim provided with inwardly projecting arms which are arranged oppositely to the arms on said plates, and transversely extending tension springs, each of which is connected at one end to an arm on the rim, and at its other end to an arm on one of said plates; substantially' as described.

3. A wheel comprising a central supporting member which consists of a hub havina pair of metal plates secured thereto, integral arms projecting radially from said plates, the arms on one plate being staggered With relation to the arms on the other plate, an outer rim, plates secured to the side edges of said rim and provided with integral inwardly extending projections whichare dis osed oppositely to the arms on the centra t supporting member, transversely ex; tending tension springs, each of which' is in: terposed between one of said projootionsand one of said arms, and means forgretaning said spring in position; Substantially as deiscribed,

In testimony whereof I hereunto ailix m si ature in the presence of two witnesses, this tenth day ot'- September 1907,

WELLS L.. CHURCH,

GEORGE BAKEWELL.

Yoo 

